MAE: An aircraft with 183 repatriated Romanians will soon land in Bucharest. The number of those returned to the country exceeds 1,500
An aircraft with 183 repatriated Romanian citizens is due to land in Bucharest soon, and the number of Romanians who have returned to the country among those who requested consular assistance will exceed 1,500 people during Sunday, announced the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Oana Țoiu.
“Our work these days is so that all families can get home safely. Fear, worry and insecurity are normal in high-risk situations, so I assure you that our priority is support for all Romanian citizens to return home safely,” Țoiu wrote in a post on Facebook.
According to her, the assisted repatriation charter flight organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs included a Doha-Riyadh land route and a Riyadh-Bucharest air route.
Țoiu stated that, in a discussion with his counterpart from Saudi Arabia, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, he thanked him for the collaboration offered during this period.
“We are continuing the assisted repatriation and evacuation plans until we know that all the families are safe, through an international and inter-institutional effort,” the minister said.
The spokesperson of the Romanian diplomacy, Andrei Țărnea, explained yesterday that among the beneficiaries of this flight are both Romanians who were in Qatar, as well as people who had stopovers in Doha and were in transit for several days.
MAE: The ground transfer was free
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs conveyed, in a statement quoted by News.ro, that the group of citizens was picked up at the border with Saudi Arabia by a team from the Romanian Embassy in Riyadh, which assisted the border crossing procedures and the accelerated obtaining of visas, where necessary.
“The convoy was picked up at the border with Saudi Arabia by a team of the Romanian Embassy in Riyadh for the border crossing procedures and the accelerated obtaining of the visa, for the cases that required this. At the same time, the team of the Romanian Embassy in Riyadh ensured the assistance of the group at the airport and the facilitation of the boarding procedure in the aircraft”, transmitted the MFA.
The institution states that the land transfer was organized by the ministry and was free for citizens.
The charter flight was organized by the Crisis Cell of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, together with private operators, to ensure prices that allow as many Romanian tourists as possible access to tickets, the competent ministry also specified.
Six citizens of other states were also transported on the same flight, following collaboration with embassies in the region.
According to MAE data, approximately 1,500 Romanians have so far left the region through assisted repatriation flights, evacuations carried out through the European Civil Protection Mechanism or flights facilitated by the ministry.
The authorities say that in the coming period, a greater number of commercial flights are planned on the lanes dedicated to Romania, as well as evacuation flights for vulnerable cases.
The MAE has 400 such cases under consideration, from citizens' registrations.
“The MAE reiterates the recommendation that those who have the option for commercial flights opt for this plan to return to the country”, say the MAE officials.
